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QEMM and Novell DOS 7 and DR-DOS 6
Quarterdeck Technical Note #269 Filename: NOVELL7.TEC
by Quarterdeck Quality Assurance CompuServe: NWDOS.TEC
Last revised: 4/12/95 Category: NW
Subject: Installation and compatibility notes on Novell DOS 7 and
Digital Research's DR-DOS 6.
All shipping versions of Quarterdeck products are essentially
compatible with Novell DOS 7 and Digital Research's DR-DOS 6,
alternative versions of DOS to Microsoft and IBM DOS offerings.
There are, however, a few configuration issues that will be
addressed in this note. In the first section, Novell DOS 7 issues
are addressed; in the second DR-DOS 6 is discussed, and in the
third, notes pertaining to both versions detail QEMM's advantages
over the Novell DOS memory managers. We recommend strongly that
you read all of the section pertaining to your version of DOS
before installing QEMM and running the OPTIMIZE program.
For the purposes of this note, "Novell DOS" will be used to denote
either DR-DOS 6 and Novell DOS 7; when there is a distinction
between the two, the name of the operating system will be
specified in full. Note that Novell DOS 7 is an updated version
of DR-DOS 6, and contains significant and worthwhile new features.
Some of these features make using QEMM much easier on Novell DOS
systems, and while not disparaging DR-DOS 6, Quarterdeck would not
discourage DR-DOS 6 users from considering an upgrade to Novell
DOS 7.
Part One: Novell DOS 7
Q. Novell DOS 7 promises better memory management than other
versions of DOS. Is QEMM useful on Novell DOS 7 systems?
A. While the memory management features of Novell DOS 7 represent
an advance for DOS, Quarterdeck's memory managers still provide
significant advantages for Novell DOS 7 users. These
advantages are detailed at the end of this note.
Q. Novell DOS provides a DPMS driver. What is DPMS?
A. DPMS stands for "DOS Protected Mode Services". Effectively,
this is a memory management specification of the same genre as
EMS, XMS, VCPI, and DPMI, but is different from all of these.
DPMS allows several of the utilities that come with Novell DOS
7 to load into extended memory, reducing conventional memory
overhead. DPMS does not conflict with any of the memory
management specifications offered by QEMM; in fact, DPMS
allocates its memory from QEMM's memory pool.
In the earliest versions of Novell DOS 7, the DPMS driver
(DPMS.EXE, version 1.0 and 1.1) would not work properly when
loaded high by any memory manager. Updates to Novell DOS 7 are
available on CompuServe (GO NETWARE) and from Novell. The
initialization size of DPMS.EXE is very large in these updated
versions; thus DPMS.EXE can never be loaded high and will work
properly in all cases. The size of the driver is only 2K, so
this will not have a significant impact on conventional memory,
but will greatly reduce the DOS memory overhead of DPMS-aware
device drivers and TSRs.
If you have a version of DPMS.EXE version 1.1 or earlier, you
should strongly consider an update. If you cannot arrange to
acquire an update, place the line
DPMS
in the OPTIMIZE.NOT file before running OPTIMIZE. Consult your
QEMM manual for information on OPTIMIZE.NOT.
Q. How do I install Novell DOS 7 on a machine that is already
running QEMM?
A. Novell DOS 7 may have problems installing properly if
COMMAND.COM is loaded into upper memory. Before installing
Novell DOS 7, please take the following precautionary steps to
ensure that QEMM's DOS-Up feature is configured to load the
command processor low:
1) At the DOS prompt, type QSETUP.
2) When the QEMM Setup welcome screen appears, press Enter.
3) At the QEMM Setup Options menu, type U to select Enable or
Disable DOS-Up.
4) At the Enable or Disable DOS-Up menu, type P to select
Partial.
5) At the DOS Up Options menu, type 2 until the word No appears
after COMMAND.COM. Then press Enter.
6) At the QEMM Setup Options screen, press S to select Save
Configuration and Quit.
7) You will be prompted to run Optimize. Follow the prompts on
the screen.
When Optimize completes, you can run the Novell DOS 7
installation. The installation program will detect that a
compatible memory manager (QEMM) is already installed and will
not replace it. Follow the procedures outlined for you in the
Novell DOS 7 Installation Guide.
Q. How do I install QEMM and run OPTIMIZE on a Novell DOS 7
machine?
A. If you are running the Novell 7 Taskswitcher or Multitasker,
shut down all of your programs and exit Task Manager before
installing QEMM. Put the QEMM distribution disk in your floppy
drive and run the INSTALL program as instructed in the QEMM
manual.
Before running OPTIMIZE, ensure that the DPMS driver is in
OPTIMIZE.NOT as noted above.
Q. Is the QEMM DOS-Up feature compatible with Novell DOS 7?
A. Yes. The DOS-Up feature has been compatible with Novell DOS 7
since QEMM 7.04. There are a couple of differences between
DOS-Up on MS- or PC-DOS systems and DOS-Up under Novell DOS 7:
- The line DEVICE=C:\QEMM\DOSDATA.SYS appears at the beginning
of the CONFIG.SYS file on MS-DOS and IBM DOS systems to
prepare the loading of the DOS kernel's data segment into
upper memory. On Novell DOS 7 systems, the DOS data segment
remains low, so QSETUP does not insert the DOSDATA.SYS line.
If DOSDATA.SYS exists in your CONFIG.SYS file, it may be
removed. It uses no memory and it will do no harm if you
leave it in.
- The SHELL statement in CONFIG.SYS will not contain QEMM's
LOADHI command, which is used to load COMMAND.COM into upper
memory on MS-DOS and IBM DOS systems only. On Novell DOS 7
systems, DOS-Up does not load COMMAND.COM into upper memory.
Q. Are there any considerations for NWCache?
A. NWCache, Novell DOS 7's disk cache utility, defaults to loading
its 16k lookahead buffer into conventional memory. If you need
to free more conventional memory for your programs, you may
want to use the /BU or /BE parameters on NWCache, which will
load the look ahead buffer into either Upper or Expanded
memory. If you have a system with a SCSI hard drive, you may
need to keep the buffer in conventional memory.
Q. Can I use the INSTALL= and HIINSTALL= commands in CONFIG.SYS?
A. Novell DOS's INSTALL and HIINSTALL commands are incompatible
with DOS-Up. If you are using either of these commands in your
CONFIG.SYS file to load programs, load the programs from
AUTOEXEC.BAT instead.
Q. Can I load the command processor high?
A. Novell DOS 7 allows you to load the command processor outside
of conventional memory. Do this by adding the /MH, /MX, or /MU
parameter to the command processor line in CONFIG.SYS. For
example:
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /MH
The /MH parameter causes the command processor to load into the
HMA or conventional memory, depending on other configuration
options you may have set; /MX loads the command processor into
expanded memory; and /MU loads it into upper memory (or High
RAM).
Q. Can I load DOS into the HMA?
A. Yes, though if you are using Quarterdeck's DESQview or
DESQview/X, you shouldn't.
You can have Novell DOS relocate the DOS kernel into the HMA,
freeing space in conventional memory for DOS applications. We
recommend that you do this unless you are using DESQview or
DESQview/X. To load the parts of DOS into the HMA, add the
following line anywhere in your CONFIG.SYS file:
DOS=HIGH
To get the most free conventional and upper memory, if you use
DOS=HIGH to load parts of DOS into the HMA, put the command
processor there as well.
Q. Are there any potential pitfalls for DESQview or DESQview/X
users?
A. Yes -- a minor note for DESQview and DESQview/X users only:
various Novell DOS 7 utilities, including SHARE and NLSFUNC,
will put themselves into the HMA by default, even if the
DOS=HIGH statement is not present in CONFIG.SYS. This will
prevent DESQview and DESQview/X from using the HMA, which will
almost always result in a decrease in the size of DESQview and
DESQview/X windows. To prevent SHARE and NLSFUNC from using the
HMA, give them one of the following parameters: /MU (which
loads the program into upper memory) or /ML (which loads the
program into conventional memory). The following example loads
SHARE into upper memory:
SHARE /MU
Consult your Novell DOS 7 manual or the online documentation
for further details.
Q. Why does Manifest tell me that I have DOS 6 when I know that I
have Novell DOS 7?
A. Programs may request information on the DOS version from the
system via the DOS Get Version call. To retain maximum
compatibility with MS-DOS 6, Novell DOS 7 answers that its
version number is 6.0 whenever a program asks.
Part Two: DR-DOS 6
We recommend strongly that you read ALL of this section of this
note before installing QEMM and running the OPTIMIZE program on a
DR-DOS 6 system. Pay special attention to the section on
SuperStor below if you are using SuperStor disk compression.
Q. How do I get the maximum amount of conventional memory with
DR-DOS 6?
A. There are several steps involved, for which a little background
information is needed. However, you can recover as much as
629K of conventional memory using the features of QEMM and
DR-DOS.
1) To get the most conventional memory available in DR-DOS 6, use
the DOS-Up feature in QEMM, in combination with the DR-DOS
HIDOS option. To do this, run QSETUP, and from the main menu
select U for DOS-Up Options. Choose Y for Yes to enable all
of the supported DOS-Up features, and Enter to return to the
QSETUP main menu.
2) In MS- and PC-DOS, the DOS=HIGH command in CONFIG.SYS allows
the DOS kernel to be loaded into the first 64K of extended
memory (the HMA), which eliminates most of DOS's overhead.
DR-DOS also permits the kernel to be loaded into the HMA,
although in a slightly different way. This is advantageous for
all DR-DOS users except those who use DESQview or DESQview/X,
which use the the HMA more efficiently than DOS can. Thus if
you're a DESQview or DESQview/X user, skip this next step. To
load the DR-DOS kernel into the HMA, choose C for "Edit the
Proposed CONFIG.SYS" and add the following line to CONFIG.SYS
after the QEMM386.SYS line:
DEVICE=C:\DRDOS\HIDOS.SYS /BDOS=FFFF HIDOS=ON
3) Use the DR-DOS HIBUFFERS command, which loads BUFFERS into the
HMA, rather than into conventional memory or High RAM. Add
this line to CONFIG.SYS:
HIBUFFERS=20
Since there might not be room in the HMA to load an excessive
number of BUFFERS, we recommend limiting BUFFERS to 20.
Q. Why doesn't OPTIMIZE arrange to load the HISTORY or FASTOPEN
commands high?
A. LOADHI.SYS will not load HISTORY or FASTOPEN because they are
internal instructions to DR-DOS, rather than discrete programs
as they are in MS-DOS. This causes no problems and does not
increased conventional memory overhead.
Q. What is the HIBUFFERS command?
A. HIBUFFERS is the DR-DOS command to load buffers into the HMA.
It will use the HMA even if the DR-DOS kernel is not loaded
there. The BUFFERS command of DR-DOS causes the buffers to be
loaded into High RAM if HIDOS=ON is in CONFIG.SYS. Each buffer
takes an individual UMB. The BUFFERS.COM program from
Quarterdeck works with DR-DOS; using the LOADHI.COM program
with BUFFERS.COM will cause the buffers to be loaded into a
single UMB. Use HIBUFFERS only if you are loading the DR-DOS
kernel into the HMA, otherwise the HMA will be used for nothing
but buffers.
Q. Should I use the DR-DOS HILOAD, HIDEVICE, and HINSTALL commands
in CONFIG.SYS?
A. HILOAD, HIDEVICE, and HINSTALL are the DR-DOS internal commands
that load TSRs and device drivers high. These commands are
incompatible with QEMM. QEMM's LOADHI.COM, LOADHI.SYS, and
INSTALL=LOADHI.COM /TSR which, respectively, perform the same
functions, should be used instead.
Q. Can I use the MEMMAX program that comes with DR-DOS?
A. QEMM's VIDRAM program allows the user to extend conventional
memory by using the address space normally associated with VGA
graphics. DR-DOS comes with a similar program called MEMMAX
that works only with the DR-DOS memory managers. Users of any
Quarterdeck memory manager or enhancer should use VIDRAM
instead of MEMMAX.
Q. Can I use the DR-DOS CHAIN command with QEMM and OPTIMIZE?
A. The DR-DOS CHAIN command allows the CONFIG.SYS to pass control
to another CONFIG.SYS-like file. DR-DOS uses it on
installation if you choose to install SuperStor. OPTIMIZE does
not follow this passing of control to another file. If you are
using CHAIN you must combine your configuration files into one
for the duration of the OPTIMIZE process.
Q. What about the DR-DOS utilities that load themselves high?
A. DR-DOS utilities such as Super PC-KWIK and DELWATCH are polite
enough to allow LOADHI.COM to load them high in the same manner
as they would load themselves high; this allows them to be
included by OPTIMIZE in its calculations. This is done
automatically and does not require any attention from the user.
Q. Can SuperStor be loaded high?
A. SuperStor (SSTORDRV.SYS) is a disk-compression utility that is
bundled with DR-DOS. It loads part of itself high, and leaves
the rest of itself in conventional memory. The remainder
cannot be loaded high with any memory manager. If you use
DR-DOS's EMM386.SYS, SuperStor merely loads low without
notification; if you use QEMM's LOADHI.SYS, SuperStor does not
load at all. To prevent OPTIMIZE from trying to load
SSTORDRV.SYS high, place the line
SSTORDRV
in the OPTIMIZE.NOT file. Consult your QEMM manual for more
information on OPTIMIZE.NOT.
Q. Does SuperStor present any complications for QEMM's
installation?
A. SuperStor works by creating a large file on the physical hard
drive, making that file look like a hard drive, and compressing
the data in the file. SuperStor may also swap the drive
designations such that the compressed file (which by default
would appear to be drive D) appears to be drive C, while the
uncompressed portion of the hard drive becomes drive D. This
can be convenient, since you will not have to re-write batch
files or reconfigure software to run from a different drive.
However, the DEVSWAP command poses complications for QEMM's
installation and OPTIMIZE processes. However, thanks to the
DR-DOS CHAIN command, and to the fact that DR-DOS reads a
DCONFIG.SYS file before CONFIG.SYS if the former is present,
things can be simplified even if drive swapping is going on.
Note that the Stacker software that comes with Novell DOS 7
loads before CONFIG.SYS is processed, and is much easier on the
user than the SuperStor approaches presented here.
Method One:
Start with QEMM386.SYS on an uncompressed drive. Leave about
one megabyte of space on the uncompressed drive. No other
Quarterdeck files but QEMM386.SYS are needed from the QEMM
directory.
The first line in DCONFIG.SYS, which is the first CONFIG.SYS
file read on bootup, should be the QEMM386.SYS line.
QEMM386.SYS is in the QEMM directory of the same drive that
DCONFIG.SYS is on. The entire DCONFIG.SYS will normally be
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM DEVICE=C:\DRDOS\SSTORDRV.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DRDOS\DEVSWAP.COM CHAIN=C:\CONFIG.SYS
Now, move DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS to the CONFIG.SYS chained
to from DCONFIG.SYS.
MAKE CERTAIN THAT THE QEMM DEVICE LINE IS NO LONGER IN
DCONFIG.SYS.
Run OPTIMIZE.
When you're through running OPTIMIZE, move the
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS line back to the DCONFIG.SYS file.
That's all there is to it. You don't have to get rid of
DEVSWAP or change the drive mappings as you do in Method Two
below.
Method Two:
When running OPTIMIZE, DEVSWAP.COM must be remarked out or
removed from the CONFIG.SYS. Also all references to drives C:
in the AUTOEXEC.BAT and in the CONFIG.SYS after the DEVSWAP.COM
line need to be changed to drive D:. Conversely, all
references to drive D: should be changed to drive C:.
The next step is to create a QEMM sub-directory on the
uncompressed drive. This is typically drive D: when the
DEVSWAP.COM device driver is loaded in your CONFIG.SYS. The
following files need to be in the QEMM sub-directory in order
to run OPTIMIZE properly: DOS-UP.SYS, QEMM386.SYS,
OPTIMIZE.COM, OPTIMIZE.EXE, LOADHI.SYS, LOADHI.COM, LOGOPT.COM,
BUFFERS.COM (if you are using DOS 2.x or 3.x), RSTRCFG.SYS,
MCA.ADL (if you are running on a Microchannel machine), and all
.VXD files, if you are planning on running Windows 3.0 in
enhanced mode.
Once you have done this, you should reboot before running
OPTIMIZE so that the drives are set up correctly. Now you will
be able to run OPTIMIZE normally. After OPTIMIZE has run, you
may edit your CONFIG.SYS and restore the DEVSWAP.COM line.
After you do this, you must edit your CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT to restore the drive specifications to what they
were before; e.g. change all references to drive D: to drive C:
and all references to drive C: to drive D:. As mentioned above,
if SSTORDRV.SYS is being loaded high, you must change it to
load low because it won't work when loaded high. Reboot again.
You are now getting the most out of your conventional memory.
Q. Are there any more considerations with DR-DOS 6?
A. Unlike MS- and PC-DOS, DOS hardware interrupt stacks are not
provided in DR-DOS 6 -- that is, there is no STACKS command for
CONFIG.SYS. There are programs that may malfunction when DOS
does not allocate STACKS. As an example, Ventura Publisher 2.0
will allocate its own hardware interrupt stacks when DOS does
not do so. When Ventura Publisher uses expanded memory, it
puts its stacks in the EMS page frame (a violation of the EMS
spec). This comes into conflict with EMS-using software,
including QEMM's Stealth feature. The only real resolution is
to update your version of DOS to some later version -- Novell
DOS 7, or one of the IBM or Microsoft versions.
Q. If I'm using DR-DOS 6, why does Manifest report that I have DOS
version 3.31 on the DOS overview screen?
A. DR-DOS 6's API (Application Programming Interface) returns the
version number 3.31 when a program using a DOS Get Version
call. This is done for compatibility reasons. Manifest makes
this call, and thus returns version 3.31 on the DOS Overview
screen. DR-DOS loads an environment variable that causes the
VER command to report DR-DOS Version 6, but Manifest reports
the level of API support. For all programming purposes, DR-DOS
6 is version 3.31. There is no SETVER command, nor is it
necessary.
Q. Manifest reports more FILES than I have specified in
CONFIG.SYS. Why?
A. DR-DOS converts FCBS to FILE handles so Manifest and the
FILES.COM program that comes with QEMM will report the total
number of FILE handles to be the sum of the two. The minimum
number of FILE handles is 20 and the minimum number of FCBS is
4. Another effect of this conflation of FCBS and FILE handles
causes Manifest to report that there is only one FCB.
Part 3: QEMM's Advantages
Q. What are the advantages of QEMM over Novell DOS's memory
managers?
A. There are at least ten good answers to this question.
1) QEMM typically provides 64K more High RAM by default than the
Novell DOS 7 memory managers, HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE. The
Novell DOS 7 products allow similarly includable areas to be
included manually, but this requires some expertise, and QEMM
is accompanied with better tools for this purpose.
2) QEMM's Squeeze technology allows larger resident programs to be
loaded by allowing them to squeeze--temporarily--into the EMS
page frame or areas used by Adapters when loading. The Novell
DOS 7 memory managers do not provide a similar feature.
3) Using its Stealth option, QEMM can provide EVEN MORE High RAM
(211K total is common) by hiding ROMs and allowing High RAM to
be mapped over them. Neither Novell DOS 7's memory manager,
nor any other third-party memory manager, currently provides
this patented technology.
4) Novell DOS 7 has no equivalent to Quarterdeck's Manifest
program. Manifest, included free with QEMM, provides extensive
information about the computer on which it is running and is an
invaluable tool when optimizing a system or diagnosing a memory
problem or conflict.
5) The Novell DOS 7 memory manager provides no program to load
automatically and optimally TSR's and device drivers into the
regions of upper memory. Novice users may experience
considerable difficulty achieving good results from the Novell
DOS 7 LOADHIGH program, but even advanced users will appreciate
the speed and accuracy with which QEMM's OPTIMIZE sets up a
system.
6) The Novell DOS 7 memory manager provides no Analysis feature.
QEMM's Analysis is extremely useful in determining areas of
upper memory that can safely be used. Analysis also lets QEMM
users reclaim unused addresses in the system ROM and in other
areas in upper memory--a great advantage to memory-hungry
users.
7) The Novell DOS 7 memory manager has no equivalent for QEMM's
QuickBoot feature.
8) The Novell DOS 7 memory manager provides no control over the
region of High RAM that can be used to load programs high. This
means that even expert users may be unable to use High RAM
efficiently in situations where TSR's and drivers must be
loaded in a specific order. The Quarterdeck LOADHI programs
allow TSR's or drivers to be directed to specific high memory
locations, giving complete control to the user. Of course, as
mentioned before, this feature is used expertly by the OPTIMIZE
program in order to provide the optimum configuration.
9) On PS/2s and other Micro Channel systems, QEMM can
automatically detect the addresses used by any adapter listed
in our MCA.ADL file. This is especially valuable on systems
with adapter RAM (used by many network cards, among other
adapters). Adapter RAM can be particularly hard for 386 memory
managers to detect. The Novell DOS 7 memory manager has no
such feature. As the addresses used by network cards vary from
machine to machine and card to card, QEMM's MCA.ADL file can
save considerable work for network administrators in companies
with large installations of PS/2s or micro channel compatibles
on networks. Users of PS/2 machines that are not on a network
will also benefit from this "ease of use" feature.
10) Novell DOS 7's EMM386.EXE is not compatible with Quarterdeck's
DESQview multitasking products. QEMM is compatible with the
Novell DOS 7's TASKMAX program, although TASKMAX may require
Novell's EMM386.EXE for multitasking. Since DESQview allows
much more sophisticated multitasking and windowing features
than TASKMAX, Quarterdeck recommends using DESQview with QEMM.
******************************************************************
* Trademarks are property of their respective owners. *
* This and other technical notes may be available in updated *
* forms through Quarterdeck's standard support channels. *
* Copyright (C) 1996 Quarterdeck Corporation *
******************** E N D O F F I L E ***********************